Chapter 11: Ke Mingqing and the Magical Girl Figure

"Honglian Hua." In Ke Mingqing's memory, there really was such a figure. She was a vigilante who had helped the police catch numerous criminals over the years.

Some people online joked that she was stealing the Superhero Company's livelihood.

When this vigilante appeared on camera, she usually rode on the Wind and Fire Wheels and wielded a Fire-tipped Spear. She wore a long, black-and-red metallic coat and a metal mask, her arms wrapped in crimson ribbons known as the Chaos Celestial Silk.

Of course, the old Ke Mingqing had never expected that this person would turn out to be his older sister.

"Good morning. Are you still half-asleep? Why do you keep staring at me?"

Xia Ningzhi passed by Ke Mingqing carrying a bowl and chopsticks. She freed up a hand and gently ruffled his hair.

Ke Mingqing swatted her hand away. "Have some respect. Do you think you're worthy of touching my head?"

"Whoa, what's wrong with your older sister touching your head? You dare to resist?" Xia Ningzhi laughed as she set the dishes on the table. She stepped behind Ke Mingqing and vigorously ruffled his hair into a mess.

"Alright, alright, stop messing around," Ke Mingqing sighed.

She rested her hands on his shoulders, looked down at his hair, and whispered, "Yesterday, during evening self-study at school, I heard our entire grade talking about you."

"And?" Ke Mingqing asked without looking up.

"Don't do anything that dangerous next time. I was so worried last night I couldn't even study. Anyway, Dad definitely already lectured you, so I won't say anything more." Xia Ningzhi squeezed his shoulders.

Ke Mingqing didn't take it to heart. "Why do you two sisters say the exact same thing? It's always, 'Dad definitely already lectured you, so I won't say anything more.'"

"Who doesn't know Dad's personality?" Xia Ningzhi laughed.

Xia Zili suddenly chimed in. "All I know is that someone used my Weibo account last night to curse at people online. My private messages got bombed, and my block list grew by dozens of people overnight."

Xia Ningzhi pulled up a chair and sat down, asking even though she already knew the answer. "Who would be so classless?"

At this, she raised her clear eyes, scanning both of their faces. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "It's rare for our little Li to complain. I definitely have to teach this person a good lesson."

"Who knows... Who could possibly be so classless? It's so hard to guess." Xia Zili spoke without looking up, taking a sip of congee.

Ke Mingqing turned his head slightly, shooting Xia Zili an exasperated glare.

Having witnessed the rest of his family's average combat prowess of A-Class and above, and comparing it to the "B-Class combat power" floating above this Magical Girl's head, he thought, "Turns out you're actually the weakest in the whole family. What have you been acting so arrogant about all this time?"

"What are you looking at?" She tilted her head slightly, a strand of hair falling from behind her ear.

Ke Mingqing shook his head and said nonchalantly, "Nothing. I just wanted to ask if you knew where to buy Magic Girl Embers fan T-shirts. I want to wear one to school to find fellow fans."

The kitchen fell silent for a moment, followed abruptly by a loud PFFT.

Xia Zili slumped over the table, burying her head in her arms as she coughed violently. She had almost spat out all the congee she had just swallowed.

"Is there a need to overreact like that?" Ke Mingqing was puzzled.

After a moment, Xia Zili slowly lifted her head. She stared unblinkingly at Ke Mingqing and said with absolute resolve, practically gnashing her teeth, "You are not allowed to buy it."

"Why not?" Ke Mingqing tilted his head.

"Because I said so." The girl's ears were flushed red, and she enunciated every single word.

"Then it should be fine if I just buy an action figure to keep in my room as a collectible, right?" As he spoke, Ke Mingqing unlocked his phone and turned the screen toward her, showing a page on Taobao.

Xia Zili looked up and stared blankly at the indecent, highly revealing figures on Taobao, utterly shocked for a moment.

Following her gaze, Ke Mingqing scrolled down the screen so she could see more similar products. There was Magic Girl Embers striking a seductive pose in a revealing swimsuit, and another of Magic Girl Embers holding an umbrella in one hand while blowing a kiss with the other.

Gradually, not just her ears, but Xia Zili's entire face turned visibly red.

Her lips trembled. "What... what is all this?"

"Isn't it nice? The sales are so high, though they might become unsalable soon." Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow suddenly. "Wait, no, why are there even more people placing orders lately?"

Xia Zili finally snapped back to her senses. She furrowed her brows and said, word by word, "You are not allowed to buy it! If you do, I will sever our sibling ties."

Ke Mingqing was stunned.

Beside them, Xia Ningzhi was also taken aback, seemingly not understanding why Xia Zili was taking this so seriously. Trying to ease the tension, she arched an elegant brow and teased, "Wow, really? Our little Li actually gets this emotional sometimes?"

Leaning close to Xia Zili's ear, she whispered, "Li, are you really this possessive of your idol? Only you're allowed to like her, but your brother isn't? That's so unfair to him."

"Yeah, exactly! She's acting crazy, getting mad at me for no reason!" Ke Mingqing rested his chin on his hand, chiming in pitifully. "Just yesterday she was telling me 'don't treat Magical Girls like idols,' and yet her own possessiveness is off the charts."

Flanked and ganged up on by the two of them, Xia Zili was momentarily speechless.

She kept her eyes lowered, her face flushed in silence for a while. After some internal struggle, she finally compromised. "Even if you buy it, don't let me see those shameful things," she said coldly.

"Watch me," Ke Mingqing snorted.

"You—"

"Alright, alright, can you two stop arguing?" Xia Ningzhi threw her hands up. "Summer break starts in a few days. Once our older brother and second sister get back, we can all go to Disneyland together, okay?"

"Sis, can you stop coaxing us like kids?" Ke Mingqing asked casually.

"If you're not a kid, who is?" Xia Ningzhi chuckled softly. She reached out and ruffled his freshly smoothed hair into a mess once again.

After breakfast, the group slung on their backpacks and headed out.

Right now, Ke Mingqing and Xia Zili were waiting for the same school bus at the station in the Old Jingmai District.

A heavy rain had just fallen last night, and the sky had yet to fully clear. Even though it was summer, there was no summer atmosphere; instead, gloomy cumulonimbus clouds lingered in the distance. The air at the bus stop was saturated with a damp smell, and the wet road surface was a patch of slick black.

Xia Zili wore her earphones, sitting on the public bench memorizing English vocabulary, while Ke Mingqing leaned against the bus stop sign, playing Tetris on his phone.

As they waited quietly for a moment, a blue text prompt box suddenly popped up in front of Ke Mingqing's eyes.

[The following is a notice: The "Player Forum" function is currently undergoing maintenance. The forum will be open to all players within a week, at which point all players will be permitted to exchange intel through it.]

"A forum?" Ke Mingqing glanced up slightly from his phone and thought, "That's good... I can get information from other players without showing my face."

If other players found out that his house was hiding a group of Superhuman Species who could all end his life, there would be a very simple method for those players to betray him whenever they wanted.

And that was to reveal his identity to his family.

"But there's one person who's very troublesome—that exchange student from Japan," he thought on second thought.

When he had just transmigrated, Ke Mingqing hadn't yet obtained his Exclusive Talent, Disguiser. Therefore, Heimu Tong saw the player icon above his head and immediately confirmed his identity.

WHOOSH.

The school bus soon arrived at the station, the doors swinging open amidst a hiss of compressed air. The students inside the cabin were drowsy, paying absolutely no mind to anyone else.

Ke Mingqing and Xia Zili boarded the bus, heading for Li Jing City Third High School. The bright yellow school bus meandered slowly through the morning streets.

In the morning light, Ke Mingqing held onto a strap, tilting his head slightly to rest against the window as he watched the sky clearing after the rain. The sunlight was sliced by the leaves, spilling warmly through the gaps and onto his head. The bus was filled with the scent of disinfectant, rocking back and forth in a way that made people drowsy.

Suddenly, he heard someone beside him speak in a very soft, low voice.

"By the way..."

"What is it?" Ke Mingqing looked down at Xia Zili.

"Thanks, bro," Xia Zili said without looking up.

"For what?"

"For helping me last night," she whispered. "No... for speaking up for her."

"Why thank me?"

"I just felt like... in that kind of situation, to think there was actually someone willing to speak up for her. If I were her, I'd probably be a little moved."

Xia Zili rested her head against the windowpane. Sunlight hit half of her face, her skin so pale and clean it was almost transparent. Her long bangs were caught by the breeze, and outside the window was a sky that looked as if it had been washed clean by water.

Ke Mingqing turned his head to look at her, fell silent for a moment, and said nonchalantly, "That's great. Give me your phone to hold onto then, and I'll keep cursing at people next time. It's not my account anyway."

"...Scram." After a moment, he received a freezing reply.

As they chatted, the school bus arrived at the stop near the school.

Ke Mingqing walked ahead as soon as he got off the bus, not even saying a word to Xia Zili. He was currently the center of attention at school, and walking with her would only bring her trouble.

Xia Zili wanted to catch up, but he had already walked far away with his backpack. She parted her lips slightly, watching his retreating back.